Monday, November 24, 2008

Here's the latest cover for Minnesota Medicine. The theme of the featured article was the increasing burnout in physicians, and the renewal of energy and insight that the Bush Foundation medical grants provide them. Since I couldn't find a giant hamster wheel, nor convince any models to dress up as doctors and run around in it, I had to invent the whole darn thing in Photoshop. Phew, that was a job, but really fun!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Time is just flying by - I can't seem to keep up with myself. I just finished another cover for the wonderful people at Local Design Group, a big thank you to Janna and Carmen! I will post it soon. Meanwhile, my task for today is to figure out how to unclutter my work space. I need more room, I'm starting to go crazy with all the scraps of paper about, files stacked here, books stacked there, dried up paint tubes reminding me to restock. I have this impulse to take my arm and just whoosh it across the drawing table and knock everything onto the floor and then kick it all out the door. Give me room, give me the wide open spaces, I sound like a cowgirl, just give me a horse and I'll ride off into the sunset. Does this sound like someone who needs a little more free time rather than a little more space? Hmmmmm. Maybe I'll just go see a matinee instead. You are reading the thought processes of a procrastinator.

Friday, November 14, 2008

If anyone out there is thinking about moving to Minnesota, STOP! Don't do it! Get a grip! This is the state that the sun forgot. I moved here from sunny California, where every day was 72 degrees and the sun shown so fiercely that babies were born wearing sunglasses. Can you imagine the shock of ending up here? There is only one other state that has fewer sunny days than here, but I can't remember which one. I do remember that when I moved here, the chamber of commerce sent me a welcome brochure. Inside I found pretty pictures of people skiing and a fact (this is a true fact, in case you think there are other types) that went like this: "There is only one other place in the world where such wide swings in weather extremes are experienced, and that is Siberia." No wonder they wait until people move here to send out that brochure.

here is the deepestsecret nobody knows(here is the root of theroot and the bud of thebudand the sky of the skyof a tree calledlife;which growshigher than the soulcan hope or mind canhide)and this is the wonderthat's keeping the starsapart

i carry our heart(icarry it in my heart)

ee cummings(and yes, I checked and rechecked the spelling and punctuation and this is just as ee wrote it!)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

I don't know what I like most about collecting vintage postcards to use in my work. Is it the imagery, or is it the writing on the back? I am fascinated with the opportunity to peek into the lives and thoughts of people who lived so long ago. Here's a card depicting one of my town's landmarks, Minnehaha Falls. It's dated 1942, and a woman wrote the following on the back:

"Dear Mother,

It is Wednesday and I am very surprised. Everything is fine here.

Love,
Your daughter"

That's it! Oh, wait. There's more under her signature.

"If I have received any mail open and send it to me. Hope you are well mother dear. If you don't answer Welcome home."

Friday, October 24, 2008

My next collage will feature this little lass. What struck me when I saw this photo in a a thrift store bin (without the bird and background) was the necklace. Some proud mama dressed her baby up in her finest clothes and jewelry so that that moment, nearly 100 years ago, would be captured and treasured in memory forever. And so it will be!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

It was so timely, too. Ironically, I had just taken my dad to his doctor the previous week, and I brought along all the old prescription bottles and tubes he had collected, all of them with remaining drugs in them. I didn't want to throw them in the trash, and I assumed that a doctor's office would have some way of disposing of them properly. Silly me! When I asked at the doctor's reception desk how they disposed of old drugs, they shrugged their shoulders and said, "We just throw them in the trash!"

So much for environmental responsibility!

So I was delighted to see this topic addressed in Minnesota Medicine, and loved working on the assignment.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

My zany friend and partner in collaboration Bonny Belgum will be reading from her just-published book Cut the Woman Some Slacks! next week so get out your calendars and write this down! Bonny's book was ranked #34 by Amazon last week on the Hot New Releases list for essay books. I can see why - this collection of humorous and satirical essays will make you laugh and at the same time, reconsider how you view everything in life, from the mundane to the profound. The BOOK is on Amazon.com and the READING is September 25th at 7:00 pm at Amazon Bookstore , the oldest independent feminist bookstore in North America (right here in Minneapolis!), and I'LL BE THERE SO WHY DON'T YOU JOIN US????

For more information, chuckles, links, directions, pictures, prose, excerpts and everything you wanted to know but couldn't think to ask, check out her website: www.bonnysamerica.com.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

If you haven't had your ice cream sundae at your local Dairy Queen or Foster Freeze or whatever it's called in your neck of the woods, your days are numbered. Unless you live in the south, like Texas or Florida the land of sunshine, where looking for a Dairy Queen is not high on your list of priorities right now. (my heart goes out to you)

It was 39 degrees this morning when I awoke in the state of Minnesota where summer is approximately 6 weeks long haha. Not really haha, it's very irritating. I just get the garden going, the blooms pop out, and then the next thing I know, the newscasters are telling me to cover them tonight because we might have an early frost.

So yesterday I had a chocolate sundae at my local DQ. I sat on the bench overlooking the concrete parking lot and watched the kids roll in on their bikes, the old folks get out of their cars and walk to the window together, the young couples holding hands while balancing dipped cones in the other, and it was a good day, a day to celebrate the winding down of a beautiful, if short, summer.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

This is Leonard, my garden cat. He normally sits in the garden on his little stand, offering bird seed for any takers. I set him on a fence post today, to offer up another plea. It is September and I'm not ready for Fall, even though it is such a beautiful season. But after Fall comes Winter - booooooooooo! I just can't face the thought of Winter. So can we have an extension please, just a little more summer?

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I found this great article on a great website, so here's a link to them both...

First is Penelope Dullaghan's website. Penelope is a fabulous illustrator, the creator of the Illustration Friday phenomenon, and her website in a creative endeavor in itself. Check it out! penelopeillustration.com.

Within her posting was a reference to the following article which I identified with, especially lately. Being creative is not easy sometimes, even though it may be your calling. There are many roadblocks and hurdles, and most of them set up by yourself. This article was very insightful: HOW Design - Free Your Creativity: Overcome Unhealthy Expectations

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Here's one of my favorite quotes (by Goethe) about creativity and changing the course of one's life:

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, their providence moves, too.

All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no (human) could have dreamed would come his way".

I believe this thought to be true since it has happened in my life so many times.

So for anyone who is attempting to start something new, explore a different path, jump off the diving board of certainty into the unknown, remember this!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I'm working on a new assignment, another cover for Minnesota Medicine. I submitted 3 sketches for the art director to consider for the theme. This month the key article addresses the growing problem of how to dispose of pharmaceutical waste. What a timely discussion this is! Just recently I took my father to the doctor, and I took along some old tubes of unused medications. I asked them if they had a way to dispose of them properly, and they said no, they just threw them in the trash! I was shocked. I thought they had some scientific way to properly dispose of unused medications, but apparently, most pharmacies and hospitals just dispose the contaminants like every other household - dumped into the trash and into our water systems.

So which sketch do you think they chose?

The third one, the underwater scene. What fun this will be to paint, I'll post the finished version after I complete it.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I'm working on an illustration for a brochure that promotes a new procedure/equipment in eye surgery. The client was hoping for something not too specific, and is hoping for a visual that will be more exciting than the reality of it all, perhaps through color or collage elements. Here's a rough sketch with color added.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I woke up this morning and saw this little doodle on a scrap of paper on my desk and realized that it pretty much sums up my brain.

Hmmm.Well, it could be worse. It could be this:I can't seem to untangle my thoughts. They are all pushing each other around, saying me first me first me first. Too many things to do, too little time. And all I really want to do is ........NOTHING!

Maybe that's what I need to do. Absolutely nothing. To quote Lin Yu Tang, "If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live".

My puritan work ethic has prevented me from achieving this exquisite goal, but perhaps today will be the day!

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About Me

I'm a whimsical retro-inspired artist with an appreciation of the quirky side of life. I find inspiration in thrift shops, dreams, magic realism, and conversations with friends and strangers.
I hope my artwork makes you smile!